Always There
by Hayashi Yuuki
Summary: Robin was not alone anymore. Now she had them. They were always there, and they would never leave her.


**Yuuki: Soooooo… First time writing a Friendship Fanfiction! Based on Story Poetry: Poem #2!**

**Inner Yuuki: Let the story begin… -slides open curtains-**

_They had always been there for her_.

_Always there._

_She wasn't alone anymore._

_This time, there were people who truly accepted her, and didn't think that her wanting to live was a sin._

_They made an enemy out of the whole world just for her._

_Just for her, they, such kind people, declared war on the World Government._

_All, just for her._

_She wasn't alone anymore._

_She had never, never felt so happy before, so complete._

_This sense of… belonging… was so new to her._

_So new, yet so wonderful._

At first, Nico Robin thought they wouldn't come after her when she left them. That if she had appeared to betray them, to put the blame on them, they would hate her even though they had such pure hearts. She thought herself a piece of darkness that would stain them. She was so scared that they would become like her, a sinner that the world doesn't want. That if she stayed with them, the World Government would come after them. She would never forgive herself if they got hurt.

Actually, at first, she had been selfish. She thought that the Straw Hat crew could beat whatever the World Government threw at them. She had seen it herself; Crocodile, Skypeia, and much more. But.. she had never thought… that the World Government would actually involve the Buster Call in this. She had never even dreamed this would happen; that they would threaten her with this. The Buster Call… why is it involved with such a small crew? Not to mention that the Cipher Pol 9 was involved too. CP9… the best assassination group with inhumane skills, skills that no one would have ever thought was possible. Also, they had Rob Lucci on their side, with a Douriki of 4000. This time, Robin was sure that even Luffy would not be able to beat them.

And so she had left. She had pretended to look down at them, to ignore their cries and walk away from them. It had been tearing her apart, to leave the people she had grown to love. When she had finally found companions, she just had to lose them again. It was always like this; to betray the people she had grown close to, even in the past. She didn't like it. She really didn't like it. Even if what Saul said might be correct, she…had to leave them anyway. She had a choice, she did, but she chose to leave them.

That means…it was all her fault after all, right?

"_There's nothing as absurd as somebody being born to be alone!"_

Saul was right. He was. She had friends that trusted her in the past, but she still chose to betray them. So, this time, she would sacrifice herself for Luffy and his crew. It was time… time that she did something for people who were always there by her side, protecting her, putting their trust in her.

She really loved them, she really did. Although there might be others who had befriended her before, that had trusted her, she knew. She knew that they didn't fully trust her, that they had malice in their thoughts when they looked at her. She knew that expression, even if it was only slight distrust, she knew. But the Straw Hat crew, they held no thoughts like that. There wasn't a single bit of distrust, of malice. They were different. They didn't even harbour the thought that she would be the type of person to betray them. No matter her past, no matter how many people she has lied to. They forgot all of it, putting it behind them. They were too quick to trust people, especially Luffy. People might think that that is foolish, and even she would agree. But to her, it was like the sun shining down through a sky of black clouds, the golden sunshine letting her feel the warmth all the way to her bones. They were a treasure. A priceless treasure.

And so she would do it. The Buster Call was just… so terrifying for her. It destroyed a whole island in a matter of minutes. _Her _home island. It was like Ohara once again, having all of her precious people taken away from her, even her mother, whom she had just met. It was so destructive.

She didn't want to go through the pain again.

She was a coward, she knew. She knew that when she had yelled at Sanji on the sea train, and at the Straw Hats at Enies Lobby. They were such nice people, she didn't know why this had to happen to them. Why that they had such bad luck to have her on their crew.

When she had seen them, specifically Luffy, battered from fighting thousands of soldiers at one time, she had already wanted to burst into tears. And she did, especially when Luffy realised what she really hated, and declared war by shooting the flag of the World Government and letting it burn into ashes. Despite what she had said, she really, really wanted to live. But so many people had told her that her very existence was a sin. After all that, she was afraid to admit that she had a desire to live. She denied it. She had lied to herself, to reduce the pain. After all, if she herself, believed that she didn't want to live, no matter what others say, it wouldn't hurt her. But the Straw Hats urged her on, to shout out what she had been secretly hiding deep inside of her heart.

"_I WANT TO LIVE!" _

"_I WANT TO LIVE, AND TO GO EXPLORE THE OCEAN WITH YOU!"_

"_TAKE ME WITH YOU! TO THE OCEAN!"_

If she could say out what she wanted, she might as well. So she did.

However, at that moment, there was still a flicker of belief, that nobody would let her have that luxury.

However, as she looked upon the smiling faces of the crew, it dissipated. It vanished, totally.

She had finally found her home.

Wherever these people were, that was her home.

She had finally found the place she belongs to.

'_I'll be waiting for you!'_

_You, my friend,_

_Is a gift to me,_

_A precious one_

_One to help me in times of need_

_One to break my fall,_

_Making the pain bearable_

_Because of you, I could stand_

_Because of you, I could find light_

_So, for that and many more,_

_I thank you, my friend._

**Yuuki: Ah…that's out! I couldn't believe that I started writing this without a plot and finished in less than an hour, but oh well.**

**Inner Yuuki: We like Robin very much, but Luffy's still our favourite character.**

**Yuuki: Anyways, review!**

_**Ja ne!**_

_**Signed,**_

_**Yuuki-chan**_


End file.
